2020 年 21 巻 1 号 p. 007-078
This article is a succession of my paper published in Annual Report of Social Anthropology Vol. 45, and is part of a series of studies that, from an anthropological standpoint, fundamentally criticize the trend of neoliberalism that prevails in contemporary society. As G. Agamben points out, the present society where biopolitics is practiced is in the process of "normalization of the state of exception" in the form of proxy democracy based on information technology and statistics. In fact, a majority of the people around the world live in societies where they are not only disparate but also abandoned, such as a Homo Sacer state. Over the past two decades, my research of Street Anthropology has undoubtedly taken the standpoint of the oppressed victim who suffers from those post-modern predicaments. The research has focused on the far more profound history of people who W. Benjamin considered "the defeated," that is, a shadow aspect that tends to be hidden by the progress-oriented shallow view of "the victorious history" from the neoliberalist standpoint. Thus, the research aims to build a place for hope and relief by discovering and learning the true "history of the defeated" from the viewpoint of the bottom. Therefore, I, as a person who shares the same social space, continue to place great importance on the socially marginalized people who live at the "street edge," paying strong attention to how they survive and make their home here. As a result, you find that it is inevitable to have a comprehensive view with "duplexed gazes" acquired by reversing the exclusive gaze from the victorious side standpoint to the more inclusive bottom–up gaze reflecting the hidden standpoint of the defeated. This article, mainly through a critical examination of G. Agamben's State of Exception, proves that it is necessary to hold such "duplexed gazes" in order to survive present neoliberalist society. Although the study basically shares the goal of truly seeking Agamben's sense of "new politics," my unique consideration is based on not only my recently edited book "Street Anthropology" but also my former book "Anthropology of Pollution," which was the starting point of my research and attempts to complement some limitations of Agamben's thinking. Through these reflections, I became aware that "Street Anthropology" can be retrospectively traced to "Anthropology of Pollution," and then saw clearly that my present work has been formed through the dialogues with the works of M. Foucault, M. Merleau-Ponty, W. Benjamin, and Iwata Keiji. Finally, the fundamental structure of the theory of Street Anthropology is presented here as a comprehensive result of such discussions.
